Pride Month Without the Parade: How We Can Continue to Support Aberdeen’s LGBTQ+ Community

June is Pride Month, a time to celebrate, uplift and increase visibility for LGBTQ+ communities. It is also a protest, a reminder that this community is here and continues to demand and deserve equality for all, especially at a time when some rights are being challenged or rolled back. However, you may have noticed the absence of Grampian Pride from this year’s calendar.

Image: Darrell Benns/DC Thomson

Last year, thousands of people marched down Union Street in a powerful display of visibility, solidarity and community. For many, Grampian Pride provided a sense of belonging, acceptance and celebration. This year, however, there will be no Pride parade and many people may be wondering why.

In November 2024, Four Pillars, the organisers of Grampian Pride, released a statement explaining their decision to cancel the 2025 event. It was clearly not a decision taken lightly. Four Pillars understands, as does the wider community, the comfort, connection and inclusion that Pride brings to so many people.

However, supporting the LGBTQ+ community must extend beyond a single day each year.

The decision was driven by financial pressures and the need to prioritise the wider range of vital services Four Pillars provides throughout the year. While Pride is an important celebration, the charity faced the difficult reality of balancing the cost of delivering a large-scale event against maintaining services that many people rely on every day.

How Can We Come Together as a Community?

Although the parade is not taking place, Four Pillars wants June to remain a month of visibility, celebration and support for LGBTQ+ people across Aberdeen and the wider Grampian region.

Many organisations, community groups and businesses are continuing to host events and activities throughout Pride Month. If your workplace, organisation or community group does not currently mark Pride, perhaps this is an opportunity to start a conversation and create space for greater inclusion and visibility.

Pride belongs to the community, and there are many ways to show support beyond attending a parade.

How Can We Support Four Pillars?

Four Pillars has been transparent about its greatest challenge: securing sustainable funding to continue delivering its services.

If you would like to help, consider supporting the charity’s fundraising activities and campaigns here: DONATE – Four Pillars.

To raise both awareness and vital funds, Four Pillars is organising a series of endurance challenges and community fundraising initiatives. The services they provide are a lifeline for many people across the region, offering support, advocacy and safe spaces when they are needed most.

Whether you are an individual, a community group or a local business, every contribution helps ensure these services can continue.

In summary, the absence of a Pride march this year is significant, and in many ways, it sends its own message.

The parade is a powerful and joyful celebration, but the work of supporting LGBTQ+ people happens every day, often behind the scenes. It happens through advocacy, support services, community programmes and the dedicated work of organisations such as Four Pillars.

While there may be no march through Union Street this June, there remains an opportunity for all of us to show solidarity, increase visibility and support the work that makes a lasting difference to people’s lives.